Volunteer
by Edgar Allan HOE
Summary: Dean Winchester volunteers to take his little brother's place as a tribute in the Hunger Games. Castiel Novak is an unusual tribute, especially from a career District, because instead of being a bulky, show-off and teaming up with the rest of the careers, he is thin, quiet, and keeps to himself. In the arena, he and Dean become allies, but could it become more? (1st fanfic)
1. Chapter 1

**Volunteer, Chapter 1.**

Dean woke to the sound of his little brother screaming right next to him, he must have climbed into his bed, probably because of the nightmares, but he couldn't blame him, everybody had nightmares on such a day as the reaping, especially if it's your first year. Dean shook his little brother awake, only to get slapped in the face.

"OH MY GO- DEAN ARE YOU OKAY?! I'M SO SORRY, DEAN, I AM REALLY SO-" Dean started to smile, which stopped Sam's apologizing.

"Yeah, I'm okay Sammy, just calm the hell down." Sam grumbled the usual 'It's Sam." as he slipped out of bed to get washed up. Dean smirked as he slipped on his leather hunting boots and jacket that his dad John gave to him after he taught him how to use a bow. His dad didn't work, so Dean had to put food on the table by hunting outside the district, which was illegal, but it kept Sammy and him from starving, like before Dean basically begged John into teaching him how to hunt.

"Hurry, try not to miss the reaping, y'know what happens to those who aren't there." Sam called as he finished washing his face. Dean knew exactly what happens to them, he heard the stories, the disappearing people, he thought it was sick. He flashed his signature - but fake- smile at Sammy, and winked.

"I always get there on time, don't I? Love you Samantha!" Dean jogged away from the house, he heard the groans from behind him as Sam tried to wake up John, who was lying on the couch drunk out of this mind. 

Dean jogged for five minutes until he reached District 12's bordering fence, which was meant to be electrocuted, but since 12 was the furthest away from the Capitol, they didn't bother. Dean still listened carefully for the tiny buzzing noise that the fence gave when, every 5 hours for 1 hour at a time, it had electricity running through the thin, rusty wires that zig-zagged around the border. He heard nothing but the distant scuffing of feet against the cold, hard ground as coal miners made their way to work, so he slipped through the sizable gap in the fence, collected his bow and a quiver of arrows from a hollowed out tree trunk, and started to jog to the hill, where he would meet his hunting partner Jo, like everyday.

Dean heard a rustling sound to his right and stopped dead in his tracks and pivoted without a sound. He took an arrow from his quiver and loaded his bow. There was movement in the bushes ahead of him, so he raised his bow and shot an arrow into the bush. A satisfying squeal and it was dead. Dean made his way carefully to the bush of which he had shot at, he smiled widely at what he saw. A plump, fully-grown doe with an arrow protruding from the eye socket, like always, Dean had managed to get the arrow in the eye. Dean dragged the doe away into a bush and started to cut it up.

After a while, Dean had finished cutting it up and he wrapped it in his jacket and stalked into the forest in the general direction of the hill, which wasn't a long way away, so he made it there in quick time. As he reached the top of the hill, he was greeted by a slap in the face. 'Twice in a day, wow' Dean thought.

"YOU ASS I THOUGHT SOMETHING HAD HAPPENED TO YOU! THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS DEAN! GET HERE ON THE TIME WE AGREE, EVERYTHING WILL BE PEACHY, GOT IT?! Dean, what's in your jacket?" Jo had finished screaming and was now curiously eying up the jacket.

"Food. A doe, fully-grown." Dean smiled as Jo jumped up and down in the air.

"YOU ARE AWESOME MAN! Oh my god, Dean, we could get loads, plus, I started gathering the berries while I was waiting, we could get great trades today!" Jo pulled Dean's hunting bag from the ground. He let her borrow it for a week, but by now it had been 3 weeks, Dean didn't mind though. 

Dean and Jo both went home with bundles of goods and some money, deer was getting rarer, mostly because there was only 3 others that went outside of the District, and they didn't go as far away as Jo and Dean, so the pair were kind of well-known, but some people only dealt with them because they knew Dean's father, or Ellen, Jo's mum. Greasy Sae gave them a bowl each of her famous broth for some deer and some strawberries, they got some bread from the baker in trade for an assortment of berries and a small amount of deer, and the mayor's daughter, like always, gave them a pouch of money for the rest of the berries.

"Sammy, I'm home!" Deans voice rang through the house as he emptied the contents of his hunting bag (which he took back from Jo after the soup, which almost got Dean another slap until he reasoned about the 1-week-turning-to-3 thing) onto the table. When Sam charged into the kitchen to find Dean  
and saw the load he had brought home, he squealed and wrapped his arms tightly around Deans waist. Dean eventually pulled him off and started to cook the deer as Sam cut the bread and set the table.

"Morning dad, got some food..." Dean said quietly as John stumbled through the door and glanced at the table. He staggered to the table (in his best clothes, Dean noticed. Sammy must have been persuasive.) and sat down heavily in a chair. Sam glared at him, he didn't understand why their father  
abandoned all hope. He didn't understand why John didn't care to look after his own sons. He didn't know what it felt like to love somebody and them die. Dean did though. He didn't give up, for Sammy's sake. That was something his dad had taught him. Always put Sam first. Always. Sam was the most important person in the house, so look after him, no matter what. If it means your demise, it doesn't matter, just look after him. Dean did just that for every single day of his life.

After breakfast, Dean had gotten washed up and had dressed in his best clothes. The reaping bells rang. 'Just in time' Dean thought as he held Sam's hand and ushered his dad out the door with them and the 3 Winchesters made their way to the square, where the reaping would take place, like every  
year.

John walked to the parents/ others area of the square as Dean and Sam split up into the different age groups; Dean went to the 16 year old's line while Sam went to the 12 year old's line. Dean looked for Jo in the female section of the square. His eyes and Jo's locked on eachothers and they smiled  
reassuringly at each other. Jo knew that Dean had his name in the ball 20 times, and that he could have just 5 but he cared for his brother too much, Sam only has 1 slip of paper because Dean told him that the tessarae was not an option. Sam had stayed up all night crying for a whole week trying to get Dean to change his mind, but he didn't. Jo wanted him to at least have taken less tessarae. Dean said Sam, John and he needed it.

Soon every potential dead kid was sorted into their age groups and Dean thought about what Sam would do if Dean was chosen to die bloody or kill bloody, meanwhile Sam was thinking the same thing, and what Dean would do if Sam got picked to enter the game of murders.

Their separate thoughts were interrupted as a bouncy Effie Trinket, 12's escort, cleared her throat and tapped the microphone. The already-silent district became even more quiet, if that was even possible, as Effie began her annual speech.

"Hello, District 12! Today is the 75th annu-" Dean zoned out because quite frankly, he knew that speech like the back of his hand, although there wasn't a lot to remember about the back of his hand. Dean's mind wondered to what his Sammy must be thinking right now. Dean glanced over to the section Sam would be waiting patiently to hear the names of the dead citizens of District 12, like Dean.

"Time to choose this year's District 12 tributes!" she sounded too cheerful to be picking out names of dead-to-be children. "Ladies first!" Effie's pink wig started to tip ever-so-gradually off her head as she made her way to the ball on her left side that was filled with potential tributes. She dipped one of  
her thin, manicured hands into the ball and subtly sorted her wig out with the other. She made a big fuss of digging around in it, it took her a whole 30 seconds to pick out one slip of paper. Effie strutted back to the middle of the makeshift stage and opened up the slip of paper.

"This year's female tribute from District 12 is..." what was her deal of repeating the district every sentence? Dean thought. He hoped to god it wasn't Jo. Please not Jo. Please not Jo. Please not Jo. Please not Jo. Please not Jo. Dean thought this repetatively for what felt like forever until Effie said one  
name that Dean didn't want to be called out, but forgot about...

"Jessica Moore!" Oh god, Sam will be devastated! Dean swiveled on the spot and found Sam and gave him a sympathetic look. Sam looked like he was going to cry. Dean knew he wouldn't though, because he was taught how to control his emotional filter when he was younger, so that just in case he got reaped, he would look strong, not the sensitive young child that he was. Jess made her way onto the stage and shook hands with Effie and gave  
her a small smile. Dean wondered why she even smiled at Effie, who had just announced her death to the entire country, he supposed it was to make her look stronger. Effie turned back to the crowd, while Jess concentrated on not crying and looking like she didn't care. She wasn't doing a brilliant job.

"Time for the gentlemen!" Effie announced with a smile, like always. Dean had always thought Effie was in the constant state of having the sun shine out her ass. Effie made her way to the ball containing the names of every boy in the district aged between 12 and 18, and dipped her hand in it. She spent less time rumaging through it than she did for the girls. Dean was glad, he just wanted this over and done with, then he could go home and eat with his kid brother and John, and celebrate not dying.

"This year' District 12 male tribute is..." Please not Sam. Please not Sam. Please not Sam. Please not Sam. Dean repeated the same process that he did for Jo. Dean clasped his hand together and prayed, actually prayed, that Sam would be safe from the Capitol.

"Samuel Winchester." God was definitely smiling down on them today. Real big and wide.

Dean was stuck. He couldn't move. Oh my fucking god. It's Sam. Sam was chosen oh god is he gonna go up there no he can't. What if I-

Dean's thoughts where cut short but his own voice. He realized he had been tackling guards trying to get to Sam when he realized what he was screaming. Everything seemed to go suddenly still. Everybody was mute. Dean repeated it again for good measure. To make sure everybody heard.

"I volunteer. I volunteer as tribute." Sam turned around as quick as a bullet and started crying.

"DEAN NOOO! DEAN YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" Dean rushed past the guards towards his brother.

"Don't worry Sammy, it'll be okay, don't you worry. Shh shhh shh. Sam it's going to be fine." Dean was hugging his brother while he shouted and cried and hit him. Thankfully Jo ran towards them, right past the guards who then ran after her, and she picked up Sam and walked back past the mentally-growling peacekeepers and put him back into his area of the square.

Dean put on his best shit-eating smile and walked up the steps to the beaming Effie. She would be getting loads of attention for having a very active District, and the first volunteer in District 12 in decades.

"Well hello young man! I must ask, what's your name?" Volunteers in district 12 was basically unheard of so the protocol was all but forgotten, so Effie was making it up as she went along.

"Dean Winchester." Dean shook Effie's manicured hand and winked at her. If anybody knew how to get on the right side of people, or woman at least, it was Dean. He could only just see Effie's blush under the layers upon layers of make-up plastered on her face. God, it was repulsive.

"I'll bet little Samuel over there was your little brother! You couldn't let him have all the lime-light now could we?" Dean's smile faltered. What the fuck was her priorities?! Dean was angry but he didn't let it show.

"Okay, now we have the district 12 tributes for the 75th annual hunger games! Shake hands," Dean smiled at Jess and took her hand and gave it a small squeeze. Jess returned the pressure. "And may the odds, be ever in your favour!"


	2. Goodbye, home

Dean waited patiently in the visiting room in the justice building. Oh for fuck sake Dean! What did you get yourself into? Dean's mind was decided to chat for a bit. It was either me, or Sammy. If I didn't do it Sammy would have to, AND it would mean that I would have disappointed John by breaking the only rule that matters, KEEP SAMMY SAFE, NO MATTER IF IT MEANS YOU DEMISE, JUST KEEP HIM SAFE.

At that precise moment, Jo and Ellen threw open the door and slammed it shut behind them. Jo had tears running down her face, but she looked like she was about to, oh no.

[SLAP]

"YOU FUCKING ASSHAT! WHAT, YOU'RE JUST GOING TO LEAVE ME ALONE? YOU BETTER WIN THIS SHIT OR I WILL REVIVE YOU AND KILL YOU AGAIN IS THAT CLEAR?!" Dean nodded his head quickly to avoid getting slapped by Jo again. He watched as Jo's face crumbled into tears as she pulled Dean into a vice-like hug. Ellen walked over to Dean and gave him another slap. Was that a game today? How many times can you slap Dean? Seems like it.

"You listen to me boy, what you did was brave, stupid, but brave. I'll make sure Sam and John don't kill each other and keep 'im fed while you're gone. You better win, or shit will go down, am I clear?" Dean nodded again just as the peacekeepers opened the door and told Jo and Ellen to get out.

"WIN THIS OR I WILL KILL YOU IN HELL YOU SONUVABITCH!" Jo's last words were touching. Ellen just gave him a glare that said "don't you fucking dare lose." and then smiled. Mixed messages can be deciphered if you know the senders.

Dean waved just as the door closed behind the girls. Dean ran a hand through his hair as he looked for a seat that didn't look girly. He found a leather two seater couch and he sat down in it. It was about as comfy as a bed made of nail clippings, but at least it didn't have a fringe hanging off the bottom.

Sam burst through the door and Dean tried his hardest not to cry, because that would make his look weak, and nobody liked weak tributes, although he could play weak, but he already gotten rid of that when he did the opposite of a weak tribute, and volunteered. Sam wrapped his arms around Dean gently.

"Deanyouidiotwhatthefuckareyoudoingyoubetterwin," Sam was muttering quietly into Dean's chest and Dean was rubbing circles into his back.

"Shhh, shhh, it's fine just calm down Samantha." Sam pushed away from Dean and he punched him in the stomach.

"YOU ASS! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" Sam started to cry as he continued to punch Dean. It wasn't hard punches, but it was enough for Sam to let it all out.

"Hey, hey, hey. It was either me, or my Sammy, and wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let you go into that arena." Dean tilted Sam's head up so that he could him in the eyes. "I swear I'll win this, and if I don't, I'll come back to live with you as a ghost. Deal?" Sam smiled at the idea of Dean as a ghost. He took Dean's outstretched hand and shook it. "Love you Sammy."

"Love you too. It's Sam." Dean smiled back and the peacekeepers swung open the door and told Sam to go. He did, but not before he gave Dean a pin.

"What's this?" He looked at it's design, it was a mockingjay perched on an arrow in a circle. He had always liked mockingjays. They were a slap to the capitols big, smiley face. The capitol made the jabberjays during the rebellion so that they would repeat enemy conversations to them, and after the  
rebellion they left them out in the wild to die off, but they didn't. They hooked up with mockingbirds, so they lived on, but they could only sing tunes.

"You're allowed a District token, I want you to wear this in the arena!" the door slammed in Sam's face. Dean stared at the door for what felt like forever, but it was only half a minute. He pinned his token onto his leather jacket (What? This was his favorite, and best jacket) and John stumbled through the door.

"Good, you did good. Sam's safe." Dean could smell the alcohol on his breath, was he ever not drunk? No.

"Now, listen to me, dad, you better not abandon Sam. Ellen will keep him fed, but don't expect her to do it all." Dean was looking John in the eye, but John's eyes wondered to the floor. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" Dean wanted John to say that he did.

John nodded and took a swig from his flask. Just when he was about to take another one, he offered it to Dean, which he took gratefully.

"Oh my fucking god. Dad, I could win this thing! Bows and arrows, they should be there, hopefully there will be trees!" Dean was trying to convince himself that he could get back to Sam, to Jo, to home. It worked until the peacekeepers told John to get out because it was time to go. Great. Just peachy. 

* * *

Dean was currently standing on a train platform smiling and waving at the cameras while fighting back tears. Jess had red, puffy eyes and tears running down her already tear-stained face. She either didn't care what the Capitol thought or she was using her tears as part of the sympathy card.

Soon they were ushered into the train and Jess broke down into a new wave of tears, lying on the floor all curled up. Dean picked her up and hugged her, she was only 12 after all. She didn't seem to mind either, actually she seemed to like it. The tears running down her face became less and less and  
her strangled sobs became quieter until you could only feel her shuddering.

"Where is her room?" Dean asked the puzzled/sympathetic looking mentor and escort. Effie tried for a smile, but it looked more of a grimace, and pointed down a passageway.

"The door on the right, sweetie. If you need anything, call an avox with the little green button, okay?" Dean nodded and smiled widely.

"Thanks." was all he said as he made his way past Effie and their mentor, Rufus, to Jess's room.

~.o0O()O0o.~

After he left Jess laying asleep in her bed, he walked along the carriage until he found the room labeled 'Male tribute quarters' and pushed it open. Dean slowly shut the door behind him as he looked around the room in awe. There was a king-sized bed with a set of drawers beside it. Dean had never been on a train before, and he would probably never do it again unless he won.

"Oh wait a sec..." Dean remembered that this was the 75th annual hunger games, which meant that this was a quarter quell. Oh god, he had zoned out at the wrong time, he didn't hear what the conditions were. I guess I just a massive, lovely bunch of oopsie fucking daisies. Dean lept onto the bad and nuzzled his face between the two impossibly-compfy cushions and slept.

_'He was running through the forest. He was panting heavily and something was chasing him. What was it? It sounded like a human but he wasn't going to check. What was that shouting? That's Sammy! The thumping footprints behind him stopped. Could the thing have caught Sam? He turned_  
_around quickly and searched for the source of the shouting. He was shouting now. What was he saying? He could hear the sounds, but he couldn't make it out. His eyes fall on a small hand quivering. He ran as fast as he could, but it was pulled into the darkness. He screamed something into the _  
_dark, again, he couldn't make it out, but it seemed to make an effect because the darkness was suddenly filled with light. Sam was there. Oh God Sam was covered in blood. Where were his limbs? Oh, they were hanging on the ceiling of the cave. Was the darkness a cave? Where was that light coming from? Oh my god Sam, what happened? Suddenly he was on the ground.'_

"Dinner." Rufus was leaning over Dean, who was covered in cold sweat. "You don't like shit, you okay?"

"Peachy. What's for dinner?" Dean grinned at Rufus who just snorted. "What?"

"Anything you order." Rufus turned and walked out the door. Dean could hear him muttering "Peachy like fuck, he is." as he walked towards the dining car.

Dean eventually managed to sit up and get changed into clothes that weren't covered in sweat. He found a plain black t-shirt, a thin brown shirt, jeans and some boots. He put his leather jacket over that and checked the pin was still there and left for dinner.

Dean strutted into the dining car and found that everybody was already there. Dean was only relieved because he saw that Jess was okay and there was no other reason like he had just spent 5 minutes looking for the stupid shitty car which totally didn't happen.

Everybody looked up from their conversation to see who had entered. Dean smiled awkwardly at them.

"Glad you could grace us with your presence Mr. Winchester. Looking better, do you feel better?" Rufus didn't look like he particularly cared. Dean just nodded and sat down.

"So, Dean, as you know, this is a quarter quell and it's a bit different to the other years, and the rules are a bit different-"

"He already knows this bit Trinket." Rufus droned as he glared at his plate which had some form of battered something, peas and great dollop of purple mush with what Dean guessed was little cubes of carrots protruding from the sides. Dean began to worry that he wouldn't get to know the  
rules before he reached the capitol, which was ridiculous, because he knew they would be watching the re-runs of the reapings later, and he would hear them then, but the irrational part of Dean's brain wanted to know now.

Dean gave a hurt-looking Effie a look that said "Continue, he's just a bore" and accompanied it with a dazzling smile, which got her to smile back and she continued.

"Well, as I was saying, the rules are a bit different this year. This year, there is allowed to be two victors! You and Jess here," Effie gestured towards the small blonde girl examining a forkful of the purple and orange mush and continued, " could win! You could go back home!" Effie beamed at  
Dean. He smiled back, and this time, his smile was a real one. He could look after himself and Jess no problems! He just needed to kill some people and not get killed! Great! Simple!

"Now, we need to know it you have any strengths, Jess, you go first." Rufus had turned his glare from his food, to Jess, who looked like she was just asked to kill a baby.

"I can run fast for a long time I guess." Jess began to swirl the mush around her plate without making eye contact. Dean rolled his eyes and sighed. He knew she could use knives because Sam had told him how great she was at skinning rabbits and squirrels to cook, among her other amazing talents, like laughing. Dean decided that Rufus had to know about ALL of their skills to be able to help them win this thing.

"She can use a knife." Dean added into the awkward staring competition between Jess and the purple mush. Rufus looked up and turned dramatically to Jess, who slumped in her chair.

"If you perhaps WANT to get out of this alive, I need to know all your skills. Any others you would care to add to the pile?" Rufus stared accusingly at Jess's forehead like he was mentally painting a target there. Dean had no idea why he seemed to want them to live, because rumor has it that Rufus didn't actually try with previous tributes, although nobody could talk out of experience except Effie, who looked shocked. The look on Effie's was like a monkey had just climbed out of Rufus's mouth.

"Umm, I can make a fire pretty quickly and I can climb pretty good." Rufus looked satisfied as he turned to Dean.

"Better, now, Dean, would you like to add anything?" Dean felt like Rufus could see right through him. Dean just hid it by flashing a cocky smile.

"I am a master with a bow and arrows, I can camouflage, I can make snares, I can cook, I can-" Rufus cut him off.

"So you can survive in the wild, and you can shoot?" Effie was on edge.

"Ho-How do you, I mean, how-how did you learn to-to use the, um, bow and arrows?" Effie stuttered. Oh yeah, the capitol don't think anybody can use weapons. Now Dean was stuck for an answer.

"He guards the fence closest to his house. We don't get electricity in 12, so he guards the fence so that the district is safe." Oh lord, thank you for Jess's brain.

"Oh, oh right. Yes, well done." Effie visibly relaxed and smiled at Dean. "So you do alot for your district, how thoughtful, I can sell that, you could get lots of sponsors." Dean grinned at the thought. He really could go home, Jess wouldn't have to die, this was great.

"Looks like we're almost there." Rufus gestured his fork at the window. "Go say hello. Might get you sponsors." Jess and Dean jamp up and ran to the window.

It was nothing short of amazing. There was an excited crowd pointing and waving at them. Dean smiled and waved back, and he seductively winked in random directions, which the people of the capitol reached out to grab, as if they existed and were important. Jess just stared with her mouth open. The bustling train station looked like a rainbow, everybody was dressed up as pointlessly as they could. Their make-up covered every inch of their skin. A herd of painted whores.

Dean saw a massive tower behind the crowd. He nudged Jess with his elbow and pointed, which she, and the majority of the capitol crowd, followed. The crowd cheered even louder. Rufus pulled them away as Dean began to smile and wave again. Jess followed, still trying to see outside.

* * *

**Hello reader(s)! This is my first story and I'm grateful that you've spent your time reading this and I just am really happy and I would appreciate it if you left me a little review to tell me I need to improve on anything, or to just chat, or some ideas and stuff like that :) I want to get to know you so, review, pwease :3 LOVE YOU!**


	3. Stylists

Dean was currently laying naked on a table in the remake center as three stylists worked on making him look pretty by plucking him and scrubbing at his skin to make him look sparkly and clean. He didn't need help at looking good, but apparently plucking at his eyebrows would make him look even better... Dean disagreed.

"So she just dropped it. Yeah, right in the doorway. She just strutted away with the dog. Talk about break-up drama." The clearly-gay (not that Dean had a problem with it) guy began to pluck hair from his balls and that's when Dean began to flinch. It hurt like fuck.

"Stop moving! Well, at least he's better than last years I mean, they just complained the whole way through, at least he doesn't make his 'pain' vocal." The guy just started a new conversation about how last year's tributes just complained about being plucked like a chicken. Did they ever shut the hell up?

"Oh well, at least we're almost done sweetie, just a moment." The woman with the lime-green skin smiled down at him.

"Looks like you keep your hair in good shape!" The other woman with the blue tattoo on her face sing-songed. Sunny-disposition was clearly the norm here.

"Good." Dean grumbled. As much as he enjoyed being stark naked in front of strangers as they filed his nails and pulled at his pubes, he was getting tired of it.

"DO-OOOOOONE!" the guy declared. Dean just sat up quickly and covered himself with the dressing gown as quickly as possible. "Ooh, looks like he is a bit shy-y!" Dean rolled his eyes and decided he wanted to feel like he wasn't an object.

"So, um, what's your names?" Dean didn't care that much, but the stylists seemed to like conversations, but he didn't want to use words that were too big in case they got confused.

"Oh, I'm glad you asked! I'm Florveah, but you can call me Flo," The guy, Flo, began. He decided he wanted to introduce everybody else too, "This is Darsily, but she likes being called Darcy, she absolutely lovely, by the way!" Darsily blushed violently behind her make-up and blue tattoo. "And this  
beauty here," he gestured towards the lime lady, "is Helena, but we call her Helen." Flo smiled widely at each person in the room, then turned to his weird, holographic watch.

"Ooh, time to go ladies! This little fella here needs to see the bossy boo!" Bossy boo? Dean had no idea who this bossy boo was, but he knew it was the main stylist. Oh god, he would have to get rid of the robe soon. "Now dearie, you need to take off your robe so that she can get a good look at you!  
Okay, sweetie? Yep, good. Well, see you soon!" Dean always hated pet names, well, unless it was his mum using them, but unfortunately, his mother had died in a house fire when he was four, and Sammy was just 6months. Dean didn't want to remember that, so he focused on his surroundings.

He could hear the stylists talking as they walked along the corridor away from him. The words were fading, but it seemed that because they were the only noise that was in earshot of Dean anyway, that he could hear them as clear as bells.

"Oh, he's such a cutie! He was so kind, he didn't complain at all!" I'm not cute. I'm manly as hell.

"Charlie's gonna love him!" So her name's Charlie?

"He had such feminine features, all the ladies will love him!" A shrill voice, which was probably lime-lady, because she had a really squeaky voice, like she had just inhaled a whole tank of helium, all the time. "I could definitely work with that."

"Don't pretend that you didn't just want to hug him and never let go! He just looked like he needed as mu-" that's when he heard a door open and all conversation stopped for a few seconds. Is that was silence sounds like? I had forgotten the bliss. Dean mentally rolled around in the silence for a few moments, then as soon as the door shut, the stylist started talking frantically.

"CHARLIEEEE! .GEEEEEE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE IT HE'S SO..." Flo searched for a word to describe Dean, whom was currently listening intently, even though he knew where the conversation was going. "FEMININE! HE LOOKS LIKE A TIGER! BUT HIS FACE IS JUST SO-" Charlie stopped him there.

"Okay, I get it, you now have a man-crush or whatever. I need to work, bye." Charlie sounded like she didn't like them and all their crap. Dean was too. Charlie's footsteps were coming closer and closer. Dean removed his robe and stood awkwardly beside the bed-thing, butt naked, waiting for Charlie to waltz in and decide how to sell him to the capitol's sheep. Dean stared nervously at the door until it opened and a smiley red-head bounded through the double doors, as if she was happy to see him, and began circling him immediately.

She didn't look like the average artificial freaks in the capitol, she looked natural. Except for the line of blue across her eyelid, some powder on her cheeks and red nail varnish, she was completely bare of make-up

"So, Dean, nice name, short." Charlie had finished circling his naked self and was now gesturing for Dean to put the robe on, which he did without hesitation.

"Yeah, my parents weren't very imaginative when it came to naming us, me and me little brother." Dean said, feeling very awkward. Charlie didn't seem fazed by the obvious tension in the room. She smiled at him.

"I know it must be hard for you, being dragged away from your district, your home, your family, your friends. I don't know how it feels personally, but I'd imagine, if I was in your shoes, I'd be feeling like crap. Well, if I got along with my family... Anyway, I'm here to help you gather the hearts of the capitol so that you survive so that you can go home to your family, or stay alive long enough to make them proud. Sponsors are essential, they get you by if you are in it shoulder-deep, so you need to smile and look pretty. I'm just here to make you look even better by adding fancy clothes to the mix. The other stylists are just gonna pretty up your body and face to match the outfit. Kay?"

Dean nodded. She was absolutely nothing like a normal capitol citizen, she seemed rebellious, in her own way. Dean liked her.

"Any requests?" Dean shook his head. Rufus told him to just go along with whatever the stylists said, don't question it. So that is what Dean did. His brain then decided to give him a recap of all the worst costumes that he had seen. A particular one kept popping up. The one time that the tributes were completely naked and covered in coal dust, or something of the likes. Oh god, please don't be naked. I don't want to be naked in public. Or put me in a skimpy, revealing coal-miner costume. How did anybody think that putting stick-thin tributes stark naked covered in coal dust on a carriage was a good idea?

"Good. Let's get started!" Charlie beamed and stood up. "Okay. I'm gonna make you look unforgettable." Dean's eyes widened.

Oh god. I'm going to be naked. Where is the dust? Dean began looking around to see if he missed anything. He spotted a built-in wardrobe.

"Me and Jess' stylist, Anna, have decided that we are going to concentrate on the coal, not the mining." Charlie continued.

I bet there is a can of black dust in that cupboard with my name on it. Charlie suddenly leaned forward and grabbed his robe to keep him in place. She stared straight into Dean's eyes and smirked, seeing how uncomfortable Dean was, and whispered against his ear;

"So, Dean, what do we do with coal?" Dean suddenly realized what she was saying.

"We burn it." Charlie leaned back with a smile on her face, and sprinted to the wardrobe behind her. Dean cleared his throat and Charlie span on her heel to look at Dean before she opened the cupboard.

"Yes?" Charlie looked concerned at Dean's unusually pale face.

"Your not going to set me alight are you?"

* * *

**Chapter four might be a bit late, just a warning. So, how are you liking the story so far? I don't usually get this far if I'm writing, so yay! I'm committing to this one! Do you have any ideas to who should be a tribute? Please review. Constructive criticism allowed, but please don't hate on me!**


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